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2013 Norovirus at a Restaurant in Maple Grove, Minnesota

In December 2013 Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department (HSPHD) staff investigated an outbreak of suspected norovirus at a restaurant located in Maple Grove, Minnesota. Four restaurant complainants from two dining parties met the case definition. Two persons from one group dined at the restaurant on December 9. The two people from the second group dined at the restaurant on December 11. All four cases reported diarrhea, vomiting and cramps. All four cases reported eating some type of sandwich (chicken sandwich with pickles or chicken salad sandwich with lettuce), waffle fries, and fountain soda with ice. No one was hospitalized and no one died.
HSPHD sanitarians visited the restaurant on December 16 to conduct an inspection and interview food workers. No critical violations were found and very little bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food items was observed. The employee illness log listed one employee reporting gastrointestinal illness previous to the implicated meal dates, and six employees reporting illness after the implicated meal dates.
Although no one was laboratory confirmed with norovirus, public health investigators concluded symptoms, incubation and duration was consistent with norovirus. The vehicle of transmission was not identified but investigators concluded the most plausible scenario is that ready-to-eat sandwich toppings were contaminated by ill or recently ill food workers.